Food, DIY, Chicago Mom Blogger
I recently had the pleasure of working with Debbie of the blog, Heritage Creek, on a new blog design for her Blogger blog. Debbie blogs about her family, life on a farm, homeschooling, and her faith.
Debbie was a wonderful client to work with, and she was thrilled with her new blog design! Please go take a look, and see for yourself. π
Last week went by so quickly. We did make some pretty good progress as far as unpacking goes, and Ruben was able to build everything that needed to be put together. So we are all sleeping in beds and not mattresses on the floor. That’s always good! And we even have a place to put our clothes, because the dressers are now built.
We’re down to one box unpacked downstairs (not counting the boxes in the garage that have things we don’t urgently need), and we have around 6-7 boxes to unpack upstairs. It will be my goal to go through these boxes this week.
Here’s how I did with all of my goals last week:
Family/Mothering Goals:
1. Spend more time talking with the kids and less time βdoingβ even though we have lots to doΒ –Β Done.
2. Cook with BreannaΒ –Β Done – We made “No Bake” Cookies following a recipe from the Deliciously Organic website. They turned out very good, and I’m freezing a couple bags of them so that we don’t devour them all in two days.
Personal Goals:
3. Continue drinking at least one homemade juice a day. We purchased a Breville Juicer before we left Illinois and started using it a few days ago. It works fantastic! And the juices are delicious. We had carrot pear juice today β just carrots, pears, and a little water in the juicer. I also made fresh apple juice for Breanna, which she says is her favorite so far. It was just 3 green apples, juiced. Nothing else added. –Β I didn’t end up making any juice over the weekend, and I really missed it. We’re looking forward to getting back to juicing today! Ruben is planning on doing a 2-day juice fast. I will drink it throughout the day with a normal diet, since I’m breastfeeding.
4. Organize my deskΒ –Β Done
5. Start counting my calories again – I didn’t get around to counting my calories, but I’m going to try to start this week.
Home Management Goals:
6. Where should I start? Okay, I think Iβll focus on organizing and getting our master bathroom unpacked. – I WISH I would have gotten to this, but I didn’t. I definitely need to organize and unpack the master bathroom.Β
7. Unpack the boxes and remove the clutter from the school room – Done
Business Goals:
8. Post one blog post each day – Because I was behind on a website project, and we were continuing to try to make the downstairs areas more ‘livable,’ I didn’t post as I wanted, but I’m planning on it this week.Β
9. Work on client project that Iβm behind on – Done
10. Create graphics for new topics Iβll be posting on – Not done
And now for this week’s goals:
Family/Mothering Goals:
1. Start reading through the book of Proverbs with the kids
2. Cook with Breanna. I’m trying to have Breanna help me in the kitchen a lot more often now that she’s 9.5 yrs. old. We are focusing on having her look at and follow recipes on her own. She’s enjoying it.
Personal Goals:
3. Juice everyday this week
4. Pay Bills. This is a pretty boring goal, but I need to force myself to gather up the bills and pay them. I think I mostly have them all in one place now. As you can imagine, we were getting ‘final bills’ in the mail from our old home in Illinois, and new bills have been coming in. They need to be tended to.
5. Start counting my calories again
Home Management Goals:
6. Organize and unpack the master bathroom
7. Unpack the 6-7 boxes upstairs
Business Goals:
8. Post one blog post each day
9. Work on client project that Iβm behind on
10. Create graphics for new topics Iβll be posting on
What are your goals for the week?
As promised, I wanted to show you guys some updated pictures of how I look after losing 11 lbs. since I began the Losing the Baby Fat weight Loss journey. I’ve actually lost a total of 39.5 lbs. since I came home from the hospital with Elisabeth 4 months ago, but I’m not counting all the weight that basically fell off of me in the first weeks after I gave birth.
Here’s how I look today!
Elisabeth posed in the picture with me. π This is how I carry her around A LOT.
I wear flip flops all.the.time. Inside, outside, rain, shine, or snow. Just thought I'd mention it.
And there you have it.
This is me.
Currently.
I love that my clothes are fitting me looser, except when they’re a little too loose by mid-afternoon and start to look saggy. I don’t like that. But I’m not ready to spend money on new clothes, either. If you are wondering what size I wear….I currently wear a size 16. I wore a size 7 when I met my husband. I’m not sure that I’ll ever get back to a size 7, since having 5 children has permanently altered this mama’s body, but I am hoping to make it to a size 9 someday. Size 7 would be a total bonus!
I know I don’t normally do weight loss updates on Saturday, but since I have a few spare minutes and this post is easy to write, I’d thought I’d give an update since it has been awhile.
My weight this morning was 209 lbs.
That means I’ve lost 2.5 lbs. since my last update almost 4 weeks ago.
Not bad. π
We ate out more often in the days surrounding our move from Illinois to Georgia, which was to be expected since we had to pack up our kitchen and drive the 800 mile trip to Georgia. During those days, I basically tried to maintain my weight by choosing healthier options at mealtimes and by purchasing cold food (salad/fruit/granola bars/healthy smoothies) from the grocery store.
After we got to Georgia and got at least the kitchen mainly unpacked, we started using our Breville Juicer to make healthy, natural, homemade juices packed with the vitamins and nutrients we so often neglect to feed ourselves.
I’ve decided NOT to do a total juice fast while breastfeeding. I came to this conclusion after doing some research online. If I did a juice fast (or juice feast as it is also called), I would risk my body dumping toxins into my breast milk (as it tries to detox), forcing Elisabeth to drink them when I nurse her. I know some people may disagree with this, but I’d rather be safe than risk giving my baby girl toxins in her only food source at the moment.
Instead, I’m drinking juice while trying to eat a balanced diet. And even though I’m not doing a total juice fast, I’m still seeing a difference.
What are we juicing?
Carrots, Celery, Cucumber (lots of juice in cucumbers!), apples (Breanna, our 9yr. old, loves fresh apple juice in the morning), pears, spinach, kale, ginger, lemon, cabbage, and even an orange (peel & all). π
How does it taste?
It tastes juice like you are drinking the fruit/veggie itself. For example, apple juice tastes exactly as if you were drinking an apple. Our green juices usually consist of a variety of veggies with a couple of apples or pears for sweetness. The juices are very tasty, although, I like mine without the ginger. Adding ginger to the juice definitely gives the juice a strong, almost spicy flavor, which I’m not a fan of. Without ginger and over crushed ice is how I like to drink my juice. π
What does my weight loss progress look like so far?Β
Beginning weight:Β 220 lbs.
Current Weight:Β 209 lbs.
Goal Weight:Β 170 lbs.
# of total pounds I want to lose in 2012:Β 50lbs.
# of pounds to go until I reach my goal: 39Β lbs.
Total # of pounds lost to date:Β 11 lbs.
I haven’t gotten back on the treadmill since we’ve moved, but I have been spending lots of time on my feet walking and putting things away, carrying the baby, and going up and down the stairs, so that counts for something, right?
How are you doing on your weight loss goals?
P.S. I know I said in my last weight loss update that I’d share a picture, and I’m going to. I’m just trying to get a picture of myself where my hair is combed (this = straightened to me), and I haven’t been waking up early enough to have time to fix my hair. I will tomorrow, though, whether I get up early or not, because we are going to church. I can’t leave for church without my hair straightened. It just wouldn’t be right. π
